Mounting means



April 1968 G. E.BAKER 3,376,871

MOUNTING MEANS I 'F'iled Nov; 19, 1965 INVENTOR Gerald E. Baker fiw w M AGENT f 7 H G 29 5. H63.

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11 v OFF OFF UPPEROVEN United States Patent 3,376,871 MOUNTING MEANS Gerald E. Baker, Washington Township, Mansfield, Ohio,

assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 508,723 4 Claims. (Cl. 248-27) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Mounting and alignment structure wherein a D-shaped aperture is provided in a support member and the flat portion thereof is lanced adjacent each end providing a resilient tab which is angulated relative to the plane of the aperture. An externally threaded member, having a matching flat and carrying a pair of movable abutment members in the form of hexagonal nuts, is insertable through the aperture and the nuts when threaded on the threaded member collapse the tab.

This invention relates, in general, to mounting means and, more particularly, to means for mounting switches to a support member in such a manner so as to inhibit rela tive rotational movement therebetween.

The extensive use of panel mounted switches has in tensified the problems of mounting and proper alignment thereof.

Heretofore, alignment and mounting of such switches has been accomplished by providing a D-shaped hole or aperture in the supporting member and providing a matching fiat on the switch barrel. Due to the inherent inability in mass production to hold manufacturing tolerances, this method of alignment is not positive enough and, therefore, is unsatisfactory. For example, when the tolerance of the hole or aperture goes maximum and the tolerance of the switch barrel goes minimum there is too much clearance, consequently, rotation of the switch barrel is not inhibited. On the other hand, when the whole dimension goes minimum and the switch barrel dimension goes maximum the switch may not fit the hole. Because of these tolerance variations, finding a suitable switch from the standpoint of size, results in an appreciable amount of time lost, a matter of considerable expense due to loss of man-hours during assembly.

In prior art constructions, various types of lock washers are employed to lock threaded fasteners such as hexagonal nuts and bolts. When a switch assembly has to be removed from its supporting brackets, these lock washers are often misplaced, resulting in replacement of the switch assembly without a lock washer.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a new and improved simple and inexpensive means for securing and aligning panel mounted switches.

Another object of this invention is to provide locking and alignment means which is integral with the supporting structure.

Briefly, the present invention accomplishes the above cited objects by providing a generally D-shaped aperture in a support member. The fiat or straight portion of the Dshaped hole is lanced at each end to produce a resilient tab which is bent at an angle relative to the plane of the hole. An externally threaded switch barrel insertable through the D-shaped aperture is provided with a matching fiat or straight surface. A pair of abutment members in the form of hexagonal nuts are axially advanced on the switch barrel through rotation thereof and serve to collapse the tab member such that the flat thereof engages the matching flat on the switch barrel thereby wedging the switch barrel in a fixed position in the aperture. The

tab member, being resilient, acts as a lock or washer to prevent loosening of the nuts by applying an axial force directly to one of the hexagonal nuts and indirectly to the other of the nuts.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out in particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a control panel incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that illustrated in FIG. 2, but before the switch is locked in place as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the support panel incorporating the novel alignment and mounting means.

Referring now to the drawings, especially to FIGURE 1, reference character 10 indicates generally a control panel of the type commonly found in electric cooking ranges. The control panel 10 comprises a Plexiglas, indicia bearing cover member 11 overlying a rigid mounting bracket or support member 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) both of which are framed by means of the trim member 13.

view taken on the line IIII A conventional toggle switch 14 carried by the support member 12 comprises a barrel or generally circular body 16. a long bat-type lever 17 and a casing 18 housing switch mechanism, not shown. The body or barrel 16 as shown in FIG. 4, is provided with a flat or straight surface 19 and is externally threaded as indicated at 21 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) for receiving an abutment member herein illustrated as a hexagonal nut 22.

Disposed in the support member 12 is an aperture 23 which may be provided in a well-known manner by simple stamping techniques. The aperture 23 initially has a D-shaped configuration (see FIG. 4) having a flat or straight portion 24. The margin of the aperture is lanced as indicated at 26 to form a tab member 27 which before insertion of the switch barrel 16 into the aperture 23 is bent, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, to form an acute angle with respect to the plane of the support member 12. In this manner, the distance between the edge of the fiat 24 and a portion 28 of the wall defining aperture 24 may be varied to thereby accommodate switch barrels of various sizes which, because of manufacturing tolerances, vary appreciably.

An aperture 29, provided in the cover member 11, in axial alignment with the aperture 23 is substantially larger than the aperture 23 and will therefore permit insertion therethrough of any size switch barrel accommodated by aperture 23. A hexagonal nut or abutment member 31 assembled on the free end of the barrel 16 together with the nut 22 is adapted to collapse the resilient tab member 27, thereby establishing positive alignment of the switch 14 through abutment of the flats 19 and 24 with each other, thereby inhibiting relative rotation of the switch with respect to its support. Furthermore, the tab member 27 exerts an axial force directly on the nut 22 and indirectly on the nut 31 so as to effect locking of the nuts to thereby prevent inadvertent loosening thereof. It will be appreciated that either nut 22 or 31 may be rotated while the other one is held stationary to effect collapsing of the tab 27. Moreover, while the position of the nut or abutment 22 may be varied to accommodate varying thicknesses of the support member 12,

it will be understood that the abutment may also be stationary.

While there has been shown and described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, modifications thereto will readily occur to those skilled in the art. It is not desired, therefore, that the invention be limited to the specific arrangements shown and described and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination; a support member having an aper ture therein, a body having abutment means thereon, a tab member in the margin of said aperture and disposed at an angle with respect to the plane of said support member, one end of said body being insertable through said aperture a predetermined distance whereby said abutment means engages said tab member, said one end of said body being threaded for receiving a nut adapted upon rotation thereof to flatten said tab member substantially into the plane of said support member, means carried by said tab cooperating with means carried by said body to inhibit rotation of said body relative to said support member when said tab member is in its substantially flattened position.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein said means 1 carried by said tab and said body comprise a pair of matching flats-forming respective wall portions of said aperture and said body whereby said aperture and said body are D-shaped in cross-section.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2, wherein the said abutment means is provided with screw threads engageable with the threads carried by said body whereby the position of said abutment means is adjustable on said body for adapting said body for mounting on varying thicknesses of said support member.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, wherein said tab member exhibits resilient properties whereby it is effective to apply axial force inhibiting rotation of said abutment member and said nut.

15 References Cited UNITED srArEs PATENTS 1,697,317 1/1929 Kyle til-69X O0 2,764,655 9/1956 Schwartz 200-168 FOREIGN PATENTS 703,633 5/1931 France.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

I. FRANKLIN FOSS, Assistant Examiner. 

